On Her Own
by Vol lady
Summary: While camped out on the way to Modesto, Jarrod and Heath are shot and Audra is abducted by two men planning to hold her for ransom. Forced to leave her wounded brothers behind, Audra knows she is going to have to get out of this mess on her own.
1. Chapter 1

On Her Own

Chapter 1

It wasn't very often that Audra got to travel with one of her brothers, much less two of them. When Jarrod had to travel to Modesto on legal business and Heath decided to go with him to look at some brood mares for their herd, Audra jumped right in. "May I go with you? I'd really love to visit Cat Barker. I haven't seen her in years."

Cat Barker was a friend of Audra from her school days. Cat's family had moved down to Modesto just after the girls finished their schooling. Audra had visited once or twice since then, but not for quite a while.

Neither Jarrod nor Heath was too sure about taking her along. "Well, I'm gonna be pretty busy and staying longer than you'll want to stay," Jarrod said.

"And I'm gonna be leaving for home as soon as I take a look at the stock," Heath said. "You're not gonna want to leave as soon as I do."

"That's no problem," Audra said. "I can take the stage home when I'm ready to leave, so it doesn't matter how long you'll both be staying."

"We'll have to camp out one night," Heath said. "Are you up to sleeping under the stars?"

"Or the rain?" Jarrod added.

"I'm not made of sugar – I won't melt," Audra said.

Victoria and Nick had been watching the interplay at the breakfast table the day before Jarrod and Heath were scheduled to leave. Victoria had told Audra she'd leave the decision up to the men, but Nick was giving her the very doubtful eye. Maybe it had something to do with Jarrod and Heath not wanting a woman on a "men's campout." That's why Victoria smiled. "I think it would be very generous of you two to let Audra go with you," Victoria said.

Jarrod and Heath looked at her, then at each other. They both knew that sneaky look in their mother's smile.

"Not that I don't think the two of you could take care of each other and stay out of trouble without your sister along," Victoria continued.

All the men in the room knew Victoria was thinking exactly that. Heath shrugged a little. Jarrod sighed. "All right," Jarrod said. "You can go, but you have to be ready to leave by six in the morning."

"That's not a problem either," Audra said with a smile that was pleased she had won. "I'll wire Cat today!"

Nick made a "hmmm" noise that said he was glad he was not going on this trip.

It turned out leaving by six was not a problem. Audra was ready to go and they were on the road by five-forty-five. It was a beautiful day, not too hot and without rain. They talked now and then about the brood mares Heath was planning to look at, and even Audra could join in on that conversation and know what they were talking about. After a while, Heath and Audra got to chatting away while Jarrod held back a bit. He was well aware how close Heath and Audra had become since Heath arrived, and how he was the big brother figure who didn't quite fit in, but Jarrod didn't mind. He was used to playing surrogate father to Audra, and while he'd never feel quite that way about Heath, he was already used to being the old man in the crowd. Besides, he had work to think about as they traveled.

Jarrod was heading to Modesto to try a civil case involving one of the local ranchers who had a land dispute with another. It would have been a simple boundary dispute, but the property line was in dispute over such a long distance that it amounted to a considerable acreage. Jarrod believed his client had the stronger argument and was hoping a settlement could be reached, but the two property owners hated each other so much and for so long that it looked like they would be going to trial out of spite.

It was a good day, even if Jarrod found himself plagued by that case. Still he managed to let it go often enough that he could enjoy the fine weather, and when they made camp for the night, they all enjoyed each other's company by the campfire. Audra even joined in when they passed the bottle, although –

"This stuff is awful," she said.

"Well, it's hooch for the road," Heath said. "You don't bring the fancy stuff out here."

"This is what we use when we cut ourselves or hurt ourselves in some other way," Jarrod said.

"So it's no surprise it tastes like liniment," Heath said.

Audra passed the bottle. "You men get out here together and just go straight downhill, don't you?"

"Pretty much," Heath agreed with a grin.

Jarrod reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a flask. "Here. See if you like this better," he said and passed it to Audra.

She drank, and her eyes went wide. "This is our merlot!"

"Never say I don't take care of my little sister," Jarrod said. "Speaking of which, your horse is starting to kick out on the right rear. You need to have him looked at when we get to Modesto."

"All right," Audra said.

They ate some ham and potatoes Silas had packed for them, finished their drinking and curled up under blankets to get some sleep. The stars were bright and all over the sky, beautiful to watch. Audra saw a shooting star and was about to say something when Heath suddenly said, "Shhh – "

No one moved. "What is it?" Jarrod asked very quietly.

"Somebody coming," Heath said. He reached for his revolver without moving anything but his arm.

Jarrod did the same, saying, "Audra, stay perfectly still."

Audra did as she was told, even if her heart was beating away faster than Indian drums. They all lay quietly, listening. Heath heard the snap of a twig just beyond the spot where Audra lay.

Heath sat up fast and Jarrod was right behind him, both of them with guns pointed. "Come out and hold your weapon in the air!" Heath shouted.

But whoever it was ran away. They could hear the crushing of leaves and thudding of feet against dirt, disappearing into the distance.

"How many, you think?" Jarrod asked.

"At least two," Heath said.

"What do we do?" Audra said.

Heath pulled himself out from under the blanket to sit on a rock, while Jarrod fed the fire to get it brighter again. "We post a guard," Heath said. "I'll take the watch until two, Jarrod, then I'll wake you up."

"All right," Jarrod said, and he tried to smile at his sister while he fed the fire. "Don't worry, Sweetheart. With the fire and guard, no one will be bothering us."

"What do you think they wanted?" Audra asked.

"Anything they could get," Heath said. "We probably should have posted a guard to begin with, but this way to Modesto isn't usually a problem."

"Times can always change," Jarrod said, and finishing with the fire, he curled up under his blanket again. "Try to get some sleep, Audra. We'll be all right now."

Audra lay back down, but she wasn't sure she would be getting any sleep. Every pop in the fire became the snap of twigs under footsteps to her. Even when Jarrod began to snore, she did not feel any easier. Finally, she got up and sat on the rock next to Heath.

"There really isn't any reason to worry now," Heath told her. "We'll be all right."

"Maybe I'll get tired again in a while," Audra said. "Do you men have to put up with things like this every time you're out on the road?"

"Not every time," Heath said, "but sometimes."

"I wish I were a man," Audra said.

Heath smiled. "I'm glad you're not."

Audra hit him slightly in the arm. Then she grew pensive again. "If I were a man, I wouldn't feel so vulnerable all the time. I could take care of myself better."

"Well, I suppose we have spoiled you a bit."

"Spoiled?! That's not what I'm talking about and you know it."

Heath laughed a little. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded. It's just you have brothers who look after you. You can relax. You don't have to take care of yourself, so it's tougher for you to keep your guard up."

"Hmm," Audra said thoughtfully. "Maybe I ought to take part of the watch."

Heath shook his head. "Not this time. Maybe next time. If you ever want to come out with us again, that is."

They heard movement in the brush not far away again. Audra stiffened. Heath listened.

"It's all right," Heath said. "Four legs."

"How do you know it's not two men?" Audra asked.

"The rhythm is too good," Heath said. "It's a deer. It won't come much closer because of the fire."

"You learn a lot of things when you're out here on your own, don't you?"

Heath nodded. "You have to, to survive."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Audra went back under her blanket and fell asleep before too long, but she woke up again before it started to get light. The fire was still going, but now Jarrod was sitting on the rock and Heath was snoring. Audra knew it was time to give up on sleeping. She woke up and sat up and then climbed up.

"Don't go too far," Jarrod said quietly as Audra stepped behind some nearby rocks.

Jarrod fed the fire again and began to dig out bacon and biscuits for breakfast. He was slicing bacon when Audra returned. "I wish there was a stream around," she said.

"You camp where you can sometimes," Jarrod said. "We should have enough water in my canteen for some coffee. Would you put some in the pot?"

Audra found Jarrod's canteen and the coffee pot, and within a few minutes she had some coffee going. Jarrod started the bacon and Heath began to stir when the scents began to mingle. By now, they could see each other in the morning light.

"How far is it to Modesto?" Audra asked.

"Fifteen miles or so," Jarrod said. "We'll get to the hotel in time for you to have a bath."

Heath sat up and yawned. "Any problems?" he asked.

"Not a one," Jarrod said.

Heath got up and wandered off to take care of his morning routine. When he returned, Jarrod turned the cooking over to him and went off to take care of his own. Within a few minutes, they were having breakfast together while the fire died down. The morning light was strong enough to see by now.

The food was good and the morning air was reviving. Before long, they had broken camp and saddled their horses. Jarrod stamped the remainder of the fire out and was just about mounted up when the first shot hit him in the upper back of his shoulder. Heath and Audra were already mounted, but Heath jumped down, pulled Audra with him and drew his gun at the same time. They huddled behind a rock together, but Jarrod was left lying out in the open.

Another shot hit the rock they were behind, then ricocheted up across Heath's temple. Heath went flying backward, losing his gun. Terrified, Audra was frozen for a moment, but then she grabbed the gun and pressed herself back against the rock again. "Heath!" she whispered sharply.

Heath lay on the ground, as out of the fight as Jarrod was. Audra began to tremble so badly she could hardly hold the gun still. She kept looking for movement out there where the shots had come from, but she couldn't see any. She waited. She knew whoever it was had to be moving around to get to her and her brothers, and now they could not help her.

Finally, a voice said, "You might as well give it up, girly. I can shoot the man on the ground with the bullet in his back and finish him off any time."

Audra looked at Jarrod, then at Heath. Neither one of them was moving.

"And I got you and the other one in my sights," another voice, coming from behind her, said.

They had to be the men who had tried to get to them during the night. Audra knew she was in desperate trouble, completely on her own, not knowing if her brothers were dead or alive. But if she didn't give the gun up, they would both be dead in only a minute.

"All right," she called and threw the gun out on the other side of the rock.

A man ran up behind her and grabbed her right away. He was young, dark and wearing a dirty blue jacket. Audra was startled to find he looked familiar. The other man came running up beside Jarrod and pointed his gun down at him.

"NO! Don't kill him!" Audra cried and tried to wrench away from the man who had hold of her. "Leave them alone and I'll go wherever you want!"

The men looked at each other. The one about to shoot Jarrod lifted his gun up and holstered it. The one who had hold of Audra pulled her toward the horses, and the other man joined them. This man looked familiar, too, older than the first man, with grey hair. But Audra just couldn't place either one of them.

"Mount up, Miss Barkley," the younger man said and pushed her toward her horse. "Behave yourself and keep your mouth shut if we run into anyone, and you'll stay alive."

Audra knew now that they knew her from somewhere, but she decided she was going to keep her mouth shut as much as possible and not let on they looked familiar to her. She mounted up, giving her brothers a last look. Neither one of them was moving. She was terrified, but there was nothing she could do. The older man had hold of the lead to her horse, and they rode out, leaving Jarrod and Heath lying where they were.

XXXXXXXX

"Jarrod! Jarrod!"

Jarrod stirred at the sound of his name. He had no idea what had happened, except that he was lying on the ground. He tried to sit up, but it was difficult. His left shoulder hurt like crazy, and his head began to spin. He reached for the shoulder and found his shirt open and a wad of cloth wrapped around his shoulder. It was a moment before he could even ask, "What happened?"

Heath was beside him, helping him sit up. Jarrod's eyes focused on his brother, and he saw blood running down the side of Heath's face and staining some cloth wrapped around his head. Heath was moving, at least. "We got hit," Heath said. "They took you out right away and I tried to get Audra behind cover, but then they got me. Audra's gone."

Jarrod's dizziness instantly left him. He looked around and saw they were still where they had camped the night before. There was no sign of Audra or any of the horses.

"You got lucky, just got a flesh wound through the muscle between your shoulder and your neck," Heath said. "The bullet went straight through, but you bled a lot."

"How are you?" Jarrod asked.

"I bled a lot too, but I can move around without falling over, at least. I'm not sure you can."

Jarrod tried to stand up. Heath helped him. "Where are the horses?" Jarrod asked.

"I don't know," Heath said. "I don't know if whoever hit us took them or they just ran off. How steady are you feeling?"

Jarrod sat down on a rock. "Not very."

"I'm gonna see if the horses are nearby," Heath said. "You stay put until I get back. I won't be long."

Jarrod nodded and let Heath go.

Heath made his way out to the road, and while he looked for the horses, he noticed the tracks left by Audra and the men who had taken her. Audra's horse was kicking out on the right rear, so he track was noticeable. Those tracks were heading back toward Stockton. Heath was worried sick – what would they do to her? He didn't dare think about it. There was too much to do here.

His head hurt and he felt sick to his stomach. After about a quarter of a mile, he lost his breakfast, but he found his and Jarrod's horses. They were grazing next to the road and still had their saddles and all the equipment they'd been carrying. Heath took a drink of water from his canteen, just enough to settle his stomach. Then he mounted up and led Jarrod's horse back to the campsite.

He was dizzier by the time he got there, but Jarrod was still sitting upright on the rock. Heath dismounted and tethered the horses, then brought the canteen to his older brother. He sat down on the ground in front of the rock Jarrod was sitting on while Jarrod drank. Heath thought if he took it easy for a few minutes, his head would quit swimming. But it really hurt.

Jarrod closed up the canteen after he drank some. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Left my breakfast in the road, but I think I'll be all right in a minute," Heath said.

"We have to get to help," Jarrod said. "We won't be able to find Audra in the shape we're in."

"Let's give it a couple minutes. I saw their tracks in the road. They were heading back the way we came."

"Are you planning to go after them?"

"I have to. Otherwise, we'll lose them."

Jarrod sighed and felt his shoulder. The bandage Heath had wrapped around it did not feel sticky at all. "I think I've stopped bleeding."

Heath got himself up onto the rock beside his brother and checked the bandage. "Yeah. I wouldn't try to move that arm much, though. I don't think you got any serious damage, but I don't know."

"Too late, I've already moved it a bit. It hurts, but it's just the muscle, not the joint. You're still bleeding, though."

"You know head wounds bleed a lot. As soon as I get my balance, I'll grab another roll of bandage and fix it up again. I think you're okay for now."

"If the men took Audra back the way we came, I think we better head that way. If they've hurt her in any way, I want a piece of them."

Heath noticed Jarrod still had his sidearm. Looking around, he saw his lying in the dirt in front of the rock he and Audra had hidden behind. He got up, not feeling sick or dizzy for now, and picked his gun up. Holstering it, he fetched more bandages from his saddlebag and tied another bandage around his head wound. Then he looked down at his brother still sitting on the rock.

"Can you ride?" Heath asked.

Jarrod stood up slowly. "For a while, I can. Let's head back toward Stockton. You do the tracking, I'll keep an eye out for unwanted company. Did you see who shot us at all?"

"No," Heath said. "Didn't hear any voices, either."

Jarrod sighed. "Let's get going and see how far we can get."

Heath helped Jarrod up into the saddle and then mounted up himself. They looked at each other, each one thinking the other was not going to make it very far, but their worry for Audra overrode everything else. They had to find her fast.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Audra did not speak at all to her captors. The only thing they said to her was to keep quiet whenever they spotted anyone coming toward them on the road. It happened three times and Audra tried to make some appeal with her eyes, but no one coming toward them ever made eye contact with her. They just kept on going right by.

Audra wasn't sure how far they'd gone, but she suspected they were a few miles south of the Barkley ranch when the men who had her abruptly veered off the road and took her cross country over a ridge. The area was not familiar to her at all, nor was the farmhouse they rode up to. The younger man grabbed her down out of the saddle while the older man opened the door to the house. They dragged her inside.

There was a room with an old sofa and rocking chair, and there was a kitchen table and chairs at the far end, near a stove and a sink with a pump. The younger man pulled Audra into another room where there was a bed and a dresser. He threw her onto the bed, and she began to shake with fear, but he only tied her wrists together and then tied her to the headboard.

"Be quiet and behave yourself and this will all be over right soon," the young man said, and then he was gone back out to the living room.

He had left the door open. Audra could see them, and they could see her, so she had no chance to try to get free. Tied up and trapped, she started to think about her brothers. And then she began to cry.

The last time she saw them, Jarrod and Heath were both flat in the dirt. She didn't know if they were dead or alive. She was scared and didn't know what these men intended to do with her. She still felt like she should know who they were, but her head was spinning so fast she couldn't think.

The two men who had taken her were moving around in the other room, talking to one another but too low for her to hear what they were saying. She looked around to see if there was something around here that would help her, but the room was bare except for the furniture. It had one window, across the room, out of sight of the living area. She began to wonder if she could get free and get to the window.

Because she knew her brothers were not going to be able to find her. She would have to get away herself.

XXXXXXXX

Heath and Jarrod saw two riders coming toward them and immediately tensed up, not sure whether they were seeing the men who took Audra. When the two men began to look alarmed and pulled up, Jarrod and Heath relaxed a bit.

One of the two men said, "Are you two all right?"

Jarrod nodded, even though it hurt his injured shoulder muscle. Heath's head hurt too much to nod at all. "We're looking for a man, maybe two, who kidnapped our sister this morning," Jarrod said. "They were heading this way."

"We saw two men and a young blonde woman about an hour ago, heading north," the man said.

"That's got to be them," Heath said.

"You two look terrible," the other man said. "What can we do for you?"

"Are you heading for Modesto?" Jarrod asked.

"Yeah."

"Go to the sheriff there, tell him about us and tell him what you told us," Jarrod said. "We're going to keep going north to see if we can find our sister."

"Are you sure you don't need a doctor?" the first man asked.

"We do, but it's gonna have to wait," Heath said. "Just go see the sheriff."

"All right," the man said and he and his buddy hurried toward Modesto.

As soon as they were out of sight, Heath eased himself out of the saddle and examined the tracks they left in the dirt. "They're not the ones who took Audra."

"Or at least they're not riding the same horses," Jarrod said. "I expect you're right, but my suspicious lawyer brain is on alert."

Heath remounted, slowly. His head hurt, and he took a moment to let the dizziness settle down. "Your brain is working better than mine so we better be careful, but I think she's up ahead somewhere. We oughtta keep following the tracks we've been following."

Jarrod agreed.

XXXXXXXX

They kept following the tracks for several more miles before they were just hurting too much. Jarrod had to steady Heath in the saddle twice before the younger man would agree to stop for a few minutes where a small creek ran alongside the road. Jarrod got out of the saddle slowly. He was pretty sure his shoulder was bleeding again, but Heath was even more unsteady. Jarrod helped him to a rock and checked the bandage on his brother's head wound.

"I'll get some water in the canteens," Jarrod said. It was tough to do with basically one arm available, but after hitching the horses to a tree, Jarrod filled his and Heath's canteens from the creek. He put Heath's on the horse and brought his own over to his brother, saying, "Here, drink some."

Heath took it and drank while Jarrod fetched another roll of bandage from his saddlebag.

"Feeling any steadier?" Jarrod asked, returning to where Heath sat.

"Some," Heath said.

Jarrod took his knife from its sheath on his belt. "I'm gonna change this bandage," he said and slipping the knife under the bandage around Heath's head, he cut it off. It hurt his shoulder to move his arm like that, but he needed to do it. He stuffed the old bandage into his back pocket and resheathed his knife.

Heath's wound still oozed blood, but it wasn't running as freely as it was at first. Jarrod used part of the new bandage to blot some of the blood from Heath's face, then rebandaged the wound. Heath said, "Thanks. How's your shoulder?"

"Hurts, but it's all right," Jarrod lied and took a drink from the canteen Heath handed him. "You know, we're not all that far from home, maybe only an hour or so."

"I know," Heath said. "I wonder if the men who took Audra know that."

"I don't know, but it begs the question. Should we get to the house and send more help for Audra rather than try to find her ourselves?"

Heath heaved a sigh. "I expect that'll depend on what we find up ahead. I don't want to leave Audra with these guys any longer than we have to."

Jarrod nodded and rolled his shoulder carefully, hoping it would help the pain. It didn't. "On the other hand, if we find them, it's not gonna take two minutes for the men who have her to overpower us."

Heath stood up, acting stronger than he felt. "Let's just keep going and play it by ear."

Jarrod took the canteen back to his horse and mounted up, while Heath mounted up, too. In a minute, they were moving again.

XXXXXXX

Audra knew she couldn't free herself, because they could see her through the open door and would be right there tying her up again. The only thing she thought she could do was to keep an eye on them, keep listening, keep trying to figure out who they were and why she thought she knew them. But they spoke in low tones and she couldn't understand what they were saying.

She kept praying they would not start abusing her. She was terrified they would attack her and for that reason she kept quiet. So far she hadn't said a word to them or offered any resistance at all. She intended to keep that up as long as she could.

She started to think about possible weapons and thought since only her hands were tied, she could still use her legs as weapons if she needed to. And they hadn't gagged her - she could still bite. If the opportunity came, she could even start chewing at the ropes that tied her to this bed.

She started thinking about Jarrod and Heath. She didn't know if they were dead or alive. She realized she had to stop thinking about them. She had to concentrate of what was happening here, because she was completely on her own.

She had been thinking so hard, she didn't really notice when the conversation out in the living room stopped. Eventually, she listened. She looked. Only the older man was still out there. The younger man had left. She wasn't sure if he was just outside or had gone away somewhere, but when a long time went by and he hadn't turned up, she suspected he'd left to go somewhere.

Where?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Wait," Heath said and stopped in the road. He eased himself out of the saddle to look more closely at the tracks where he stopped.

Jarrod was certain his shoulder was bleeding again now, but he didn't plan to tell Heath about it yet. Heath's new bandage was stained already too, but not too much. "What?" Jarrod asked.

"They left the road," Heath said, pointing off to the west. They could see for something like half a mile in any direction. Heath was pointing to a low ridge in the distance. "Do you have any idea what's off that way?"

Jarrod looked, but said, "No."

Heath sighed. "Well, we're gonna have to make a decision. We either go that way or head on home for help."

Jarrod looked further ahead on the road. His shoulder really hurt. He touched the bandage and felt sticky blood seeping through, but he felt the terrible itch that Audra was just over that ridge. She was so close, they couldn't possibly leave her. "I say we go – " He stopped, looking.

Heath saw it, too – one man on horseback coming over the ridge. The man slowed when he saw them and then kept coming. "What do you think?" Heath asked.

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "Stay on foot but keep your hand on your sidearm. Let's see if he comes closer."

The man coming over the ridge was the younger man who had taken Audra. He saw two men in the road and couldn't tell until he drew closer that they were the two men with Audra, the two men he and the older man had shot. He and the older man had not planned on killing anyone when they took Audra Barkley, but now he regretted that. And now he was stuck with continuing to go down to the men he knew as two Barkley men. If he changed direction in any way or otherwise looked nervous, they would know he was trouble.

As he got closer, Heath said quietly, "It's Calvin Baker."

"Who?" Jarrod asked. He didn't know the name.

"He and his father both worked for us for a while the last time you were in San Francisco for so long. I wonder…."

"Was he trouble?" Jarrod asked.

They both watched him come closer. "No, not particularly. They just didn't stay very long. Said they'd lined up a better job, but I couldn't see how. We paid top dollar."

Baker was close now. He smiled, but his mind was churning. He was coming this way to leave a ransom note at the sign for the Barkley ranch, but now that was out of the question. "Heath!" he said cheerfully and pulled to a stop near them.

"Calvin," Heath said. "What are you doing out in these parts?"

"Taking a shortcut from the ranch we're working at to Stockton," Baker said. "What happened to you two? You look awful."

"Got robbed," Heath lied. "How far is this place you work?"

"Your place is closer," Baker said. "You're not two miles from the gate. You two better get on home before you fall out of the saddle."

"Did you happen to see our little sister anywhere?" Heath asked.

"No, but then I never saw much of her before. I don't really remember much about her except that blonde hair, and I haven't seen anyone like that. What happened?"

Jarrod quickly said, "We were out looking for her when we were robbed."

"Look, let me ride with you to your place," Baker said. "I'm going the same direction, and I'm not too confident you're gonna make it alone."

Heath climbed back up into the saddle, giving Jarrod an I- don't-like-this look as he did. Jarrod got the message. He said, "We'd be obliged."

Both Barkley men were pretty sure Baker had to have seen Audra, which meant he probably had something to do with her disappearance. But it also meant they were stuck with Baker. They couldn't go over that ridge. If Baker was involved in the attack on them at the camp, he'd probably shoot them again.

"Who robbed you?" Baker asked as they started up the road again.

"We never saw them," Heath said. "We were both knocked down too fast."

"If your sister's not home, I guess you'd better send a posse out looking for her. You don't think the fellas who robbed you have her, do you?"

Jarrod said, "I doubt it. She wanders off on her own sometimes and we have to track her down."

Baker laughed, for appearance's sake. He knew they were lying to him. "Yeah, as I recall, she did have a tendency to take off on her own. I reckon that's why I never saw much of her."

"How's you father?" Heath asked.

"Oh, he's all right," Baker said. "Working the same spread I am."

"What spread is that?" Jarrod asked.

"Jace Campbell's," Baker said. "You remember Mr. Campbell – big guy with red hair."

Jarrod and Heath both knew the man. Heath nodded, but his head began to hurt more, and it showed.

"I reckon we better move along a little faster before you fall down, Heath," Baker said, and they picked up the speed.

But Baker didn't know what he was going to do about a ransom note now, and the Barkley men did not feel any more secure about what he was up to.

XXXXXXXX

Baker wanted to leave them once they got to the Barkley gate, but Jarrod asked him to see them to the house. He had something in mind, and it was not much of a stretch to look like he was fading fast. Baker went on with them, and in half an hour or so, they were riding up to the house.

Ciego was there, and luckily so were Nick and a few of the hands. Alarmed at the sight of his brothers, Nick came hurrying over from the stable yard. Heath had already slid out of the saddle. Jarrod was moving more slowly.

"What happened?" Nick asked as he helped Jarrod down.

"Let's talk inside," Jarrod said as Nick got an arm around him.

Baker said, "I'll be on my way. Good luck finding your sister," and he took off again.

Jarrod watched the man get out of earshot before he said to Nick, "Saddle up fast and take a couple men with you. Follow that Calvin Baker. I think he might have Audra."

"What?" Nick said.

As Ciego helped him into the house, Heath said, "We got hit in camp this morning. Jarrod's shot in the shoulder. I got it in the head. By the time we came to, Audra was gone. We tracked the riders who took her to a spot on the road about two miles south of our gate. Saw the tracks go over a ridge, and saw Baker coming over that ridge toward us."

As soon as they got in the house, Nick had Ciego go saddle his horse and round up about four men. Victoria was in the living room and saw what was going on. "What's happened?" she asked quickly, running toward them.

"Take care of Heath, Mother," Nick said. "I'm gonna get Jarrod up to his room."

"Where's Audra?" Victoria asked quickly as Nick and Jarrod started up the stairs.

"Abducted," Heath said. "But we think we know who took her and we have a general idea where she might be."

Victoria sat Heath down in the sofa in the foyer. Silas appeared on the upstairs landing as Nick arrived with Jarrod, and Nick handed Jarrod off to him. Victoria heard Jarrod say the bullet had gone through his shoulder and she felt a bit better for that, but said to Nick as he came back down, "Send someone for the doctor."

Nick nodded. "I'm getting a few men and we're going to find Audra if we can," he said. "Two miles south you said, Heath?"

"Yeah," Heath said as Victoria began to take the bandage off his head. "That big open space there, right about in the middle of it. Audra's horse was kicking out on the right rear. You ought to be able to see where the tracks come up from the south and head off to the west. But try to follow Baker a spell first, if you can keep him from seeing you. If he has her, he might be heading back that way. I don't know for sure, but I think he might have been coming here when we ran across him and now he'll go back."

"All right," Nick said. He fetched his gun belt and hat and went straight out the door.

XXXXXXXX

As soon as he was out of sight of the house, Baker kicked his horse into a gallop and headed back the way he had come. He looked over his shoulder now and then but did not see anyone following him. As soon as he was about where he was on the road when he ran into Jarrod and Heath, he took off even faster over the ridge. A quick look from the top told him no one had caught up to him.

He still moved fast down to the house where they were keeping Audra. As soon as he was there, he ran into the house, startling his father. "I ran into the Barkley men – they're alive," he said.

Audra heard that and nearly burst into tears.

"We gotta move, right now," Baker said to his father, and then he ran into the bedroom. "Get the horses ready."

He had a knife out. Audra backed away involuntarily, afraid he was going to kill her, but he cut her free of the ropes instead.

Then he threatened her with the knife. "You keep cooperating and keep your mouth shut, and this can still end good for you," he said, grabbed her and pulled her outside.

His father was saddling her horse, and Baker got her up into the saddle while the older man saddled his own horse. Baker kept hold of the lead on Audra's horse, and in moments, they were all riding away together, off to the southeast.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Nick and the men with him rode hard to the place Heath told him they had tracked Audra's horse to, and Nick quickly jumped down to see if he could see what Heath told him to see. And he did – a horse that kicked out on the right rear, and its tracks veering off the road to the west. "This is it," he said to the men with him and mounted back up.

"Nick – " one of the men said and pointed south down the road.

Three riders were coming at a gallop. As they came closer, it was easy to see they were all men, and one of them wore a star. Nick recognized him as the sheriff from Modesto. "Nick!" the man called.

As they pulled to a stop, Nick said, "Bob, what's got you out in a hurry?"

"A couple men came into town, said they'd run into two wounded men on the road who were asking for help," the sheriff said. "Would that be your men?"

Nick nodded. "Jarrod and Heath. Somebody shot them and abducted our sister. We're tracking our sister – it looks like they took her off to the west here."

"Are your brothers all right?"

"I think so, but I don't know about our sister. We need to find her. A man who used to work for us named Calvin Baker might be involved."

"Baker? Young, dark guy? His father works with him?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

"Yeah, I had them both in my jail for a while last week. They roughed up a couple of saloon girls."

That alarmed Nick, and it showed.

"Didn't hurt them, just scared them," the sheriff said. "I kept them overnight for disturbing the peace."

Nick turned his horse toward the ridge. "We think they might have Audra someplace over this ridge. Can you ride with us a spell?"

"Sure," the sheriff said.

They all took off cross-country toward the ridge, and in only a minute or so they were up and over it. On the other side, they could see another road in a small valley, and there was a house down there with a barn and a corral. The men stopped.

The country was open. Anybody in the house could see them from a mile away.

"If they have her in there, they're gonna see us coming from here," the sheriff said. "We'd better take it easy."

Nick nodded an agreement, but it was all he could do to keep from blasting his way down there and into that house. He was worried sick and furious. If they had Audra, there was no telling what they would do to her.

They rode into the yard in only a few minutes, but nothing at all was stirring around there. There were no horses in the corral. No one was looking out from inside the house or coming to the door. Nick told his men to stay in the saddle while he and the sheriff both went up to the front door, their guns drawn. The sheriff tried the door and it opened easily.

There was no one inside. The place actually looked deserted, except that there was furniture in there. Nick and the sheriff moved around slowly, looking for anything that might tell them if Audra had been here.

Nick went into the bedroom and found the bed. He found the remnants of the rope Baker had tied Audra to the bed with. Nick looked at it. It was clean of blood, but it was obvious someone had been tied up here.

"I think they had her here," Nick said, "but they got away with her." He swore under his breath, looking around, wondering what to do.

One of Nick's men came in the door. "Boss, we found tracks from your sister's horse out here. They're real fresh. Heading southeast."

"Maybe toward Modesto," Nick said. "Are the Bakers living around there?"

"Working for a spread east of town, last I heard, but they wouldn't take your sister there," the sheriff said.

"Maybe someplace abandoned, like this place?" Nick asked. "Do you know anywhere like that?"

The sheriff said, "A few places between here and there."

"Then we better get looking," Nick said and went out the door.

XXXXXXX

Audra was exhausted from fear, from riding, from trying to think of a way to save herself, but the Bakers kept moving her on. She tried to keep track of where they were going. They cut across country again, back to the east. They crossed the road to Modesto again and kept moving east, but it wasn't long before they were in trees and rocks and she couldn't tell where they were. She tried not to be afraid that no one would ever find her, but it was tough.

They came to a house very much like the one they had just left, where they pulled her out of the saddle and inside. Again, there was no one here. How did these men know about these places, she wondered? Did they just go scouring the countryside looking for abandoned buildings?

This place had no furniture in it, and when Calvin Baker shoved her into the back room again, there was no place to put her except on the floor. He threw her down.

"You stay put and do not make a sound, and I'll leave you untied this time," Calvin told her.

Audra hadn't yet said a word since these men had her. She was thirsty and she needed to see to her personal needs, too, but all she said, very quietly, was, "May I have some water?"

Baker glared at her, but he left the room and soon came back with a canteen. Audra sipped some water from it. Baker took it back after she'd had only a sip or two.

"May I use the outhouse?" Audra asked quietly.

Baker hesitated, but then he grabbed her and shoved her out the back door to where the outhouse stood. Audra went in, closed the door, and immediately started looking everywhere for something she could grab, something she could use as a weapon, anything.

There was nothing in there.

She came out again a minute later, and Baker grabbed her and hauled her back into the house. Inside, his father was trying to get the wood stove started. Baker shoved Audra back into the back room, and again, all she heard was muffled conversation between the two men. She was certain they were trying to decide what to do with her. Something had made them run off from that other house and upset whatever plans they had for her. Now they had to decide on something else.

Audra was afraid they were going to kill her now. She didn't know what to do. She looked frantically around the room for something, anything she could use.

She spotted something under the only window in the room. She moved slowly over there and found it – a nail. One single roofing nail. Audra quickly slipped it into her pocket and went back to where she had been sitting on the floor. Neither of the men seemed to have noticed she had moved and come back.

Audra kept looking around, trying to find anything, even just another nail. Every now and then she looked up to see what the men were doing. They seemed to have gotten the wood stove started and were making coffee. If only she could get to the pot of hot coffee, or to the fire.

She suddenly noticed that there was a crack in the window next to the front door. She slowly looked over to the window in the room she was in. If it was cracked, maybe she could get it broken without them hearing her. Maybe she could get a piece of glass.

There was a broken pane, but it was broken clean out. The rest were intact. She gave up on that idea, at least for now. For now, all she had was that nail in her pocket. She began to think of ways she might use it.

XXXXX

Night fell. Nick hadn't come home. Audra was still missing. Jarrod was asleep, had been most of the day since the doctor gave him a painkiller. Heath had gone to bed right after eating dinner, his head hurting enough to make him lie down but not enough to go for some of those painkillers the doctor had given Jarrod.

"Take some," Victoria had told him. "There's no need for you to put up with the pain. Jarrod isn't."

"The doc force fed that to Jarrod," Heath said. "He was really hurting and being stubborn about it, so the doc slipped some in on him. I'm not that bad off, and I don't want you to have to be by yourself."

"Heath Barkley, I've been by myself many hard times," Victoria said, but then she saw the look in his eyes. He was really feeling the weight of responsibility for her, what with Jarrod essentially unconscious, Audra missing and Nick off looking for her. Victoria said, "Why don't you turn in early at least? If I need you, I will wake you. And I have Silas to keep me company. I'll be all right."

Heath hesitated, but then he smiled a little. "As long as you wake me no matter what time it is, if Nick comes back."

"I will wake you," Victoria assured him.

So Heath had gone onto bed, and Victoria waited for several hours in the living room, trying to read, trying to keep her hope up. Silas had been very attentive until she sent him off to bed, too. She stayed up, hoping against hope that Nick would come home with Audra in tow. She wanted to be awake for that. But midnight, then one a.m. rolled around. Nick hadn't come.

It was so incredibly difficult not to worry. Victoria knew she would probably get no sleep tonight, so she did not even go up to bed. She just stayed reading, worrying, resting on the settee, until she fell asleep without knowing it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nick was lying awake himself, on the hard ground, frustrated with having to stop the search for the night. Of course it made sense – how can you track someone in the dark? But he was terrified thinking about what might be happening to Audra tonight. Men tended to drink when it got dark. If the men who had her were drinking, if they got drunk, since she was handy –

Nick got up. The Barkley ranch hand who was standing guard looked at him as he approached, worried about him. "I figured you wouldn't sleep much, Boss," the boy said.

Nick grumbled. "Why don't you turn in? I'll keep an eye on things."

The boy just shook his head. "You need to rest. You need to be ready tomorrow. We're gonna catch up with them tomorrow. She's gonna need you."

Nick hated it when somebody was being wiser than he was – which was most of the time, he had to admit to himself. But when it was a kid ten years his junior, he almost had to chuckle at his own lack of good sense. He would have chuckled, too, but he was too scared. "All right, I'll try again," he said and wandered back to where his saddle and blanket were waiting. He crawled back under the blanket and leaned back into the upturned saddle, and he stared at the stars. He said his tenth prayer tonight – for his injured brothers, for his worried mother. But mostly for his sister who needed his prayers the most.

And then he prayed for himself, that he wouldn't lose his composure if they did catch up in the morning to whoever took Audra. He thought he had learned a lesson when he and Heath kept Jarrod from killing the man who had killed Jarrod's wife. He thought he had learned what murderous actions by one family member could do to the rest of them, but now he wasn't so sure he had learned anything at all. Whoever took Audra – whether it was Baker or somebody else – Nick wanted him. He wanted him so bad he wasn't sure what he would do once he got him.

XXXXXX

Miles away, the Baker men were not bothering Audra. They left her in that back room, but as it began to get dark, they tied her up, hand and foot, so that she could not try to get away. Baker the father took the first watch and was sitting on the floor near the woodstove, keeping it going because it was beginning to get colder as it got darker. That made Audra think they had gotten higher in elevation than she realized. They must have moved farther east than she realized.

Not that knowing that was going to be of any help to her. The only help she had was in her pocket – that nail she found – and it wasn't a lot of help. She couldn't reach it while she was tied up anyway. She thought about it and thought about it and decided the only way it would help her was if she could get one of the men alone and get very, very close to him. Close enough to hurt him with the nail.

The younger Baker had gone off for quite a while the day before. She didn't know why, but maybe he would go off again after the sun came up. Then, maybe she could get to the father, hurt him with this nail somehow and run for it. That was the plan she came up with. If the younger Baker did not go off alone again, it wouldn't be much of a plan, but for now, it was something. It helped her sleep. She'd need her sleep, she knew, because if she was going to have to run, she'd need the energy.

XXXXX

At about dawn, Calvin Baker saddled up and left again. He and his father had talked during the night and decided that he would try again to leave a ransom note at the Barkley place. There was money to be had there, and they wanted it. They had plans for it.

When Calvin left, he had left Audra still tied up, wanting to be sure she would not be trouble. Audra had her own plans, though. She could hear Calvin ride away through that missing pane in the window. She could tell he had taken off going west. She waited for a while before she started to put her own plan into motion.

When she was certain he was good and gone, she called to the father. "Please! I need the necessary! Please!"

It took a few calls, but the father came in. He was a quiet man, frowning all the time, surly all the time.

Audra still played the helpless female. "Please. Let me use the necessary. You can stay right there outside. Please."

The father took a knife from the sheath at his belt, reached down and cut the ropes from Audra's feet. But he left her tied at the wrists and yanked her to standing by them.

"Can you loosen them a little?" she asked.

He shook his head and pulled her out back to the outhouse. He shoved her in and she closed the door.

Audra quickly worked on the ropes, pulling and twisting and loosening them up at least enough to be able to get to the nail in her pocket. She used the facility so the father would hear it, and then she managed to get to that nail. Removing it carefully, adjusting it carefully in her right hand, trembling with excitement and fear, she got herself together and opened the door.

When the father grabbed for her, she went with the motion and shoved the nail right into his eye.

The man screamed and fell down, and Audra ran. She spotted the horses tied up not far away, unsaddled, but she had learned long ago how to ride bareback. She raced for her horse, her hands still tied but the ropes loosened a bit, bloodied a bit. She turned the father's horse loose as she swung herself up on her own mount and started riding fast, going east, away from the this place and in the opposite direction from where Calvin Baker had gone.

XXXXXXXX

Heath woke up at about seven, got dressed and quietly went to Jarrod's room. He wasn't sure if Jarrod was awake, but he found him sitting up on the edge of his bed, pulling his trousers on, awkwardly with his left arm in a sling. "How you feeling?" Heath asked.

"Like wet cotton," Jarrod admitted. "I decided to get up and move around. How about you?"

"Not quite that bad," Heath said. "I've been thinking, about Calvin Baker."

"Yeah," Jarrod said. "I have, too."

"He has Audra. I know it."

"So do I. That's why I told Nick to try to follow him, but I don't know how that's working out."

Heath sat down on the chair next to Jarrod's bed and faced him. "Why do you think he was coming our way when we ran into him?"

Jarrod thought about that.

"Why would he have left her alone?"

"He probably didn't," Jarrod said. "His father is probably in this with him."

"All right, then why was he coming our way? Ransom note, you think?"

Jarrod nodded. "That's what I was thinking when I woke up. He was planning to come here and somehow leave a ransom note."

"If he was, he didn't leave it. Do you think he might come back?"

Jarrod thought through the fog in his head. "He might, except that he might be afraid we'll know it's him who left the note. And Heath – I don't want to think about what he'd do then."

"You think he might kill Audra?" Heath asked, beginning to shake.

Jarrod nodded, but decided he'd better stay on the optimistic side. "But I think it's more likely he'll move Audra, and come back and try to leave the note again."

"Where would he leave it?"

Jarrod thought again. "He was reluctant to come close to the house. We had to talk him into it."

"The gate," Heath decided. "The gate where he thought he'd leave us. That might be where he was planning to put it."

Jarrod sighed and reached for his boots. "I don't know what makes him think we'd find it there, but we better send somebody out."

Fully dressed, Heath got up. "I'm gonna go."

"Wait, I'll go with you."

"No, you're in no shape. Mother will have a fit."

Heath was out the door. Jarrod could only call, "Take someone with you!"

Heath headed straight outside and told Ciego to saddle his horse. He found one of the hands named Cooper and told him to saddle up and be ready to ride. Heath hurried back into the house, grabbed his gun belt and hat and a cup of coffee, and told his mother quickly where he was going and why. Victoria objected, but Heath just said, "I gotta go, Mother," and was out the door again.

Cooper was waiting with the horses. "Where we going, Boss?" he asked.

"The south gate," Heath said. "We're gonna go look for a note."

Cooper was curious, but Heath was riding off. Cooper took off after him.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Audra rode as fast and as far east as she could before finding a road going north and turning for where she thought home would be. Her wrists were rope burned and really beginning to hurt, but she couldn't stop. She wasn't afraid the old man would be after her, but she was afraid the young one would come back and find her gone. Maybe there was a chance he wouldn't come after her, or would be unable to track her, but she wasn't counting on anything except her own mount.

But in an hour or so she had to slow down, and then she had to stop and rest her horse. He was gasping and lathered and she knew she had pushed him to the limit, especially given that right rear leg that was kicking out. She stopped by a creek, dismounted and let him drink.

All the while she listened. She was on a back road and didn't really expect to hear many riders, if any, but she had to be alert. There was no telling if she had gotten away clean. She paced anxiously for a bit, but then sat down on a rock to rest. She plotted the direction she thought home would be and tried to figure out how to get there. That was her only objective now – get home.

XXXXXXXX

At about the same time Audra stopped, Nick together with his men and the sheriff and his men found their way to the house where the Bakers had been holding Audra. It was the first abandoned house the sheriff knew of that was roughly on the way to Modesto, but they didn't see any horses there. Disheartened, Nick nearly turned to keep going, but the sheriff suggested they look around first, so they stopped.

It was a good thing they did. One of the hands from the Barkley spread rode slowly around the back of the house and saw the Baker father lying in the dirt.

"Nick!"

Nick and the others rode around back, where he spotted his man dismounted and kneeling next to the father on the ground. Nick jumped down and ran to them.

"This is Old Man Baker," Nick's man said.

Nick winced at the father's bloody eye. The old man groaned and whimpered but wasn't really coherent. Nick grabbed him anyway. "Where is she?! Where is my sister?!"

Nick's man said, "Nick, he's hurt bad, he ain't gonna answer you – and I got the feeling your sister did this to him. I can't think of anybody else who might have."

Nick let the father drop back into the dirt and stood up. "If that's so, she might have taken off someplace. Look around!" he yelled to the others. "Look for that track her horse leaves!"

"It's over here!" one of the sheriff's men yelled. "She's heading east!"

Nick ran over to him and looked in the dirt for the tracks. He saw her horse and another, but the other one didn't seem to be following her. "We gotta find her," he said and mounted up. "Stewy!" he called to the man kneeling by the father. "You and Macon take the old man to the doctor in Stockton. You be on the lookout for Calvin Baker on the way. You see him, you leave the old man and you grab Calvin, got that?"

"All right, Boss," Stewy said.

Nick and the rest of the men took off toward the east, following Audra's trail. For the first time, Nick felt optimistic. He was certain she had gotten away. Now all he had to do was find her before Calvin did.

XXXXXXX

Heath and Cooper arrived at the south gate just as Nick was taking off after Audra. Heath dismounted and looked around the gate, his heart pounding because he was certain there would be something there, but he didn't see anything at first. Then he finally did see it, a folded piece of paper stuck under a rock not a foot from the base of the gate. He quickly picked it up.

"Five thousand dollars, right here by five pm. Anybody here or anybody follows me and the girl dies."

Heath slumped. Getting five thousand dollars by five might be tough, but what choice did they have? He looked all around, praying he would see somebody now somewhere around here, but he only saw Cooper. Cooper looked almost as distraught as Heath felt.

Heath mounted back up and without a word, he and Cooper went back to the house. When he got there, he found Jarrod up and around in the living room, Victoria nearby trying to busy herself with some sewing.

"What did you find?" Jarrod asked quickly.

Heath handed him the note. "They want five thousand dollars by five, left by the gate. If he sees anybody or anybody follows him, he'll kill Audra."

Victoria dropped her sewing and got up. Jarrod gave the note to her.

"I'll go to the bank and get the money," Heath said. And when Victoria started to protest, he said, "Mother, it's either me or Jarrod and he's not fit to ride."

"I can go," Victoria said.

"No," Jarrod said. "You go anywhere alone and you're fair game for kidnapping too. We can't risk that. Heath's right. He has to go. But come straight back here, Heath. Nick might be back anytime."

"If he is, I hope he has Audra with him," Heath said, and he hurried back out the front door.

Jarrod looked at his mother. She was in tears, finally. Jarrod put his good arm around her. "Don't give up yet, Lovely Lady. Heath and I made it home. So will Audra."

Victoria whispered, "If she doesn't – "

"She will," Jarrod cut her off. "She will."

XXXXXXXX

Nick and the men with him followed Audra's tracks until they veered off onto a side trail about three miles away. "She's still alone," the sheriff noted. "She's getting away."

Alone was not the way Nick wanted her to be, or to feel. "Audra?!" he yelled. "It's Nick!"

No one answered him.

"I know this trail," one of the other men said. "It circles back north and cuts back into the road to Stockton."

"Where do you think the Baker boy is?" Nick said, mostly to himself.

One of Nick's men said, "He might have headed back Stockton way. If they were holding her for ransom, he might be trying to deliver a note."

The sheriff said, "If this trail intersects the Stockton road, she's gonna be in trouble again if she runs into him."

Nick immediately took off again.

XXXXX

After leaving the note, Calvin Baker headed back to the abandoned farmhouse where he had left his father and Audra. He was only a few miles away when he spotted two men coming toward Stockton on the Stockton road, along with a third man slumped on his horse. Calvin stopped and looked, and he recognized his father's horse.

Calvin also realized the men with his father had seen him. He kicked his horse into a gallop and headed east.

"That's Baker!" Macon yelled, and he and Stewy did as ordered. They left the father there in the middle of the road and took off after the son.

XXXXXX

Audra had rested and mounted up again, once again following that trail she hoped would lead her back to the west and to home. She had no idea that Nick and his men were only a couple miles behind her now, or that Calvin Baker was only a couple miles ahead. She only knew that she had to get home, to get safe.

She was tired, and her wrists hurt, and she was afraid, but she kept going. She thought about home and a warm bed and some food and some clean clothes. And then suddenly, she heard it – a rider ahead, or was it behind? And were there more than one rider? She stopped, frantic, not knowing what to do, and as they all closed in on her, she froze.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

She wasn't frozen for long. Pure fear sent her dismounting, and smacking her mount into running away while she ran for the cover of some rocks nearby. She carefully looked out toward the trail, trying to see who was coming, but now she was sure she heard riders coming from both directions. Terrified, she ducked down and she listened.

She heard one rider stop nearby and speak softly to her horse, who had not run far away. "Easy, there, fella. Easy there. What are you doing out here alone?" Then, that terrifying voice she recognized. "Come on, Miss Barkley! I know you're here someplace! You come on out!"

She shivered. She should have taken the older man's gun, but she hadn't thought of it at the time, she was so anxious to get away. She didn't even have that nail anymore. She tried hard to catch her breath.

She heard more riders, coming from the other direction.

Nick saw Calvin Baker at the same moment Calvin saw him. Baker turned and started to ride away, but right behind him Stewy and Macon were coming up, and then Nick was on top of him. Nick leapt from his horse and tore Baker out of the saddle, wrestling him to the ground, grabbing him by the shirt and pounding his head against the ground. "Where is she?! Where's Audra, you piece of dirt?!"

"Nick!" the sheriff yelled and jumped out of the saddle to tear Nick off Baker.

Audra heard it all. She heard her brother's voice and his name and relief washed over her like a blessed waterfall. She came running out from the cover of the rocks. "Nick! Nick!"

Nick heard her, saw her, ran to her while the sheriff and Stewy yanked Baker to his feet. Nick opened his arms and gathered his sister in as she began to shake and sob. "Oh, Honey, it's all right, everything's all right now," Nick said, rubbing her back.

"Nick, they shot Jarrod and Heath!" Audra sobbed.

"They're fine," Nick calmed her. "They're home and they're both fine. What about you? Are you all right?"

Audra held up her hands. "My wrists are burned."

The Modesto sheriff called, "Nick, we're taking this guy on to Stockton! Can you take care of your sister?"

"Where's the old man?" Nick yelled, nodding.

Stewy called, "We left him like you said, but he's not going anywhere. We'll fetch him on the way back if somebody hasn't found him already."

"Nick, I had to hurt him," Audra wept as the sheriff and his men left with Baker, Stewy and Macon.

That left two men with Nick. They waited and kept a lookout to be on the safe side while Nick held his sister close. "I know, Sweetheart. You didn't have any choice."

"All I could find was a nail – one nail – "

"You made it count, Little Sister," Nick said with a smile. "Everything's all right now. Joe! Get some bandages and medicine out of my saddlebag!"

Nick's man dismounted, fetched the first aid supplies and brought them over as Nick sat Audra down on a rock and cut the ropes from her wrists. Audra wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

Nick took the medical supplies and started to clean the rope burns on Audra's wrists. "This is gonna sting a bit. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No," Audra said, and bit her lip as Nick cleaned her wrists and wrapped bandages around them. "This is that awful camp hooch Jarrod and Heath had with them, isn't it?"

Nick laughed. "Did they make you drink this stuff?"

"They tried to. How bad are they hurt?"

"Not bad at all," Nick said. "Everything is all right."

"I didn't want to hurt that old man."

"I know, I know," Nick said and took her in his arms again. "Let's just get you bandaged up and we'll be home in an hour or so."

Audra sighed, closed her eyes and caught her breath. "I don't think I want to go camping out with you boys anymore."

Nick laughed and kissed her forehead. "You'll change your mind by next week."

XXXXX

When Nick rode into the stable yard with his sister and the two of his ranch hands who were with them, the front door flew open, and Victoria came running out, Jarrod moving more slowly behind her. Without a word, Victoria ran for her daughter and took her into her arms.

"I'm all right," Audra said quickly. "Just my wrists are roped burned."

"They didn't hurt you," Victoria said hopefully.

Audra shook her head. "They didn't hurt me." Then she saw Jarrod and burst into tears. "Oh, Jarrod – I thought they killed you!"

Jarrod laughed, taking her into his good arm. "It'll take more than a little bullet wound to kill me. Heath's inside, getting the ransom for you together. I guess we won't need it now."

As if on cue, Heath came hurrying out of the front door. "Heath!" she cried.

In a moment he was gathering Audra into his arms. "We never gave up on you, Sis," he said.

"She never gave up on herself," Nick said. "She saved herself from Old Man Baker with one lousy nail."

"A nail?" Victoria said.

"It was all I could find," Audra said. "But I had to hurt him, Mother. I put his eye out. I really had to hurt him."

"You had no choice," Nick said.

"I still didn't want to do it," Audra said. "I knew I had seen those two men before, but I didn't know who they were."

"They worked for us for a while," Heath said. "Not bad sorts, not that we could tell anyway. I guess we were wrong about that."

"They wanted money, but we'll be finding out more about why they did what they did whenever we get to a trial," Jarrod said.

"Stay out of that," Nick warned, pointing a finger at his lawyer brother.

"I'm a victim, Nick, remember?" Jarrod said. "I'll be in the witness box, not behind the defense table."

"Where's Calvin Baker?" Heath asked.

"We found him, too," Nick said. "He and the old man are both in Stockton by now."

"Come inside," Victoria said and gathered all her children with her.

Nick took a moment to ask the men to take care of all the horses before he followed everyone inside. Silas was inside, coming toward the front door. "Oh, Miss Audra! I'm so glad you're home!"

Audra took him by both hands. "So am I, Silas."

"Oh, but your wrists are hurt," Silas said.

"Dr. Nick took care of them," Nick said proudly.

"We'll look at them later," Victoria said, not being a smart alec about it, just honest.

"I need to clean up and change these clothes," Audra said and headed for the stairs.

"Do you need my help?" Victoria asked.

"No," Audra said from the third stair, sighing, looking at her family members. She was so relieved and so happy. "I think I can take care of myself."

As she hurried up the stairs, Nick said quietly, "She sure can. Takes after her brother Nick."

Jarrod cleared his throat. "Have a little whiskey, Nick. You need to get a fresh grip on reality."

The End


End file.
